Motorcycle Fork & Handlebar Alignment: How To Straighten
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- Опубликовано: 20 окт 2024
- My handlebars were slightly out of whack after my bike went over last week. It's fairly easy to rectify though - you just need to loosen the lower yokes and manhandle the bars back into alignment. Some say you can just pump them up and down but mine needed a little more persuasion.
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Started learning to ride last summer (aged 49). Had my first spill last week on a roundabout, rear wheel slid out. Riding home saw my handlebars were slightly off and got really stressed. Found your video and problem was sorted in less than 10 minutes. Many, many thanks for making this video.👍👍
❤ to see good people out their, thanks for leaving such a nice admirable comment
Did the same thing a month ago my friend lol
@@Thebestsnowborder6 i dropped my bike a month ago too! except i broke my humerus 😢 i’m recovering now tho and doing well. my handle bars are having this issue and i hope it’s the fox
@@Dunkinblownutzz_1 get well soon
@@sazutawideuh i appreciate it , i’m doing a lot better now. still a little pain but physical therapy is helping !
4 years later and your video is still a lifesaver! A million thanks from Sabah, Malaysia!
and now still 7 years later
Bro you're a life saver. I ask 4 mechanics and told me i need to change my fork for just slight misalignment. And then i saw your video and did a diy. And it work! Thank you for sharing this technique!
im finding a lot of mechanics at dealers lie to people on this fix... i took mine to a dealer and they returned it the same way i gave it to them and they charged me $140 to do it... fucking ridiculous... i took it back and the shop manager got into it with me... they seemed to get it right after the second time..
Idiot mechanics then, if you ever rode a bike as a kid you already knew you could do this, perhaps just not exactly what to loosen
I like this video due to the fact that I have done this several times before and had great results. I usually do this with a front stand so that I can adjust the fork height of my sport bike. I tend to do this every other year due to the potholes in the Bay area. Awesome video
😁
Bay Area, potholes? I hear the city of San Francisco turn into a shttholes because of your Governor.
Deadass doing this now because i ate it on a pothole in Sf and bars were loose haha
You were the cure to my anxiety. Took the tiniest spill in the dirt and thought I made a costly mistake after feeling the bars were off.
Thank you!!
Me too! Get this guy a beer!!!
@@meangreengrillingmacsame here👍literally fell over in the mud doing donuts but had the softest fall imaginable and thought… oh noo🫠
I recently got T boned by a car, and it knocked my alignment off. I've been fixing parts of my bike but this was the part that kind of daunted me the most, as I'm a new rider and never done anything like this before. This video really helped and it worked straight away without any hassle! Thank you!
Jason Atoche did it work after you pumped the forks or did you need to put the wheel between your legs
to straighten it too?
@@ANDY1985UK2011 it actually turned out to be the easiest thing to fix. I only needed to loosen the bolts a bit on the triple clamp, then i sat on the bike and pumped it maybe 10, 15 times? It worked a treat and took less than 5mins
@@jason_a7420 I can't lossen those clamps though, there too tight and I broke my arm 2 months ago so it hurts to undo things
@@ANDY1985UK2011 if you broke your arm, it wouldn't be a good idea to attempt a correction of your handlebars at all. Not only will you have to get through loosening the bolts a bit, but to pump the handlebars you gotta pump them hard, which would only damage your arm more. I'd advise you to wait until your arm is fully healed before attemptimg any repairs on your bike that require heavy lifting or any physical stress. It took me almost 6 months to ride my bije again, you'll get there bud
@@jason_a7420 have already been riding my bike for 2 weeks, broke my arm 10th march
i just dropped my bike for the first time after stupidly forgotting that my sidestand isnt on yet. Only noticed my slanted handlebar 2days later. I just want to say thank you for sharing this! Really appreciate it!
Hey man. You saved me. Thank you.
Wanna add that if anyone doesn't have a torque wrench, just use a marker to draw a line from the bolt to the clamp and remember how many rotations. When it's done, just tighten it in the same number of rotations and align the line on the bolt with the clamp and it should be torqued.
Ride safe and godspeed.
wow, what a coincidence, I was looking for help because my fork isn't straight, I click this video and you have exactly the same motorcycle :D
+Aleksander Matuszewski ah you and me both have great taste then 👍 it's my first bike so I haven't got a huge frame of reference but I love it! Good luck with the forks. Took me a few attempts to get it just right but it's not too tricky 🤘
Same! I wonder if this is a weak point in these bikes
Tim Narbeth cbf125 only has 2 bolts 1 on each side so they get twisted everytime
Same bike different version - ER-6F. Helped me a ton just now. Other videos were terribly long with dialogue so A+ from me 👍💯
@@motobob and here i am again,just like you,er6n is my 1st bike,some idiot dropped her while parked and the engineer didn't bother straightening the forks after replacing the handlebars....once again to the rescue my man !!! love you :),I feel like subscribers who know you from your er6n vids and not your news-vids love you a bit more xD
I realize this is an older video but...Today, I dropped my first ever motorcycle, while standing still in my parking spot. (Mad at first, but then I remembered, its like the first door ding on your car, some things are just going to happen.) Anyway, I noticed that the forks were just slightly off. So slight that I argued with myself if they may have already been like that. This was the very first video that came up when I asked Google. Walked outside...five minutes later...perfect. Thanks.
its hard to do when your bikes is using a side stand your should use a rear stand and place your tire on a sheet of platic or like a sheet of stainless steel so the front tire can turn easier. I would recommend loosening everything up meaning the front wheel axle, front fender, calibers and yokes on both sides of the bike. it also works better if you get over the handle bars and press straight down on the center of the bars rather then holding onto your bar ends. if youre unsure what to loosen just loosen everything up jut a little it wont hurt.
+santasfake 21 cheers for the extra info. Will pin this comment so others can see when I'm next at my computer
@@minicopilot1 Loosen everything below your triple tree. Your triple tree is what is stopping the forks from jumping out, you don't wanna losen that.
Won't loosening all the screws cause it to fall out?
Wow just wow hahahaha words can't express how happy I am that i've fixed my first beloved bike hahahaha thanks brotha this really helped me!!
For better result, loosen the front wheel centre nut as well.
Thank you so much! Just had a little tip over and I thought I needed new forks. Again, thanks 🙏
Same, im about to test this out on my bike
I low-sided my bike 3 times already, twice over 50kmh. Never broke more than a mirror and a few plastic fairings, but some alignment and bolt re-tightening always comes in handy!
This video helped me slot
I just had my first motorcycle drop.and the it felt out of balance..now I can stop worrying thanks bro
My pleasure mate!
Same bro just an hour ago
Tempo same bro, just five hours ago.
Today lol
Hey! 2018 Honda Africa Twin Adventure Sports owner here. I wanted to throw the year and bike up to let you know that this DOES work, and works incredibly. Keep the bike completely upright and straight. Bounce a bit on the front fork. If it is NOT realigning, give it a bit of a twist and you're all good! This is NOT something you adjust once in a motorcycles life span. Drops can tweak the for a little. So keep your tools with you. Especially in the jungle.
Thank you so much man. I thought my handlebars were bent. Turns out the risers had shifted and the forks were out of balance like yours. Great how to fix video 👍
Saw this in delboy's garage video. For it to align after compressing the forks down, you have to undo the triple clamp centre nut too! Else you will have to use your legs to hold the wheel.
dellbboyyyyy
i rathaer use my leg....because i have to remove the handlebar to loosen the center nut...i will try it. i hope it will work without touchong the center nut
Riding for years and seem to learn something new all the time. Nice vid!
i love you, my family loves you and my dog loves you. saved me faffing around. thank you
Make sure to keep the bike straight through the whole process, like on a main stand because when you straighten the wheel and put it on the side stand it will get crooked again
what if you hanve only side stand??!
@@lices wheel clamp or race stand. Or have a friend keep the bike upright.
@@lices someone has to hold the back of the bike for you, while you pump the forks and tighten everything up
Dropped my Africa Twin on forest leaves trail yesterday, your video helped me a lot!! Thanks man!
This works! I really doubted this when I first saw it but I just tried it on my KLR and everything straightened right up. Thank you for this post!
No problem! Glad it helped you
Your video on fork alignment saved me a lot of trouble.
Thanks Noah! Glad it helped 👍
I have my test on friday and I was thinking how to fix. Thanks alot mate. It really works.
yeh loosen the yoke halfway down as you did, loosen the nut in the centre of the top yoke, may have to loosen another further down again (i think) depending on forks can also loosen the mudguard/fender if you want, and with bike on rear paddock stand or upright (easier if someone stood at rear of bike holding it with this option), push forks down. Don't push the forks in the same way you would if you was checking dampening or whether they bottom out, but literally get above the forks and push downwards. Straight down.
Just had my first fall trying to go down a muddy narrow trail and now my front handlebars are just slightly misaligned. I’ll have to try this out. Thanks for the video!
I had to watch twice because the first time i was just paying attention to the music !
What was the song?
I was nearly 100% confident this wouldn't work for my bike. I had measured from my axle on both sides up to the end of each bar and it was about a half inch difference. 10 minutes later after watching this video and my bars are perfect! That's what I get for always thinking I'm so smart
Dude I love you lol I been trying so hard figure that shit out and you just saved me a trip to dealership
Laid my bike down because of a preoccupied driver, thought I needed new forks! I’m going to give it a go! Hoping it works! 👍🏽
Did it ever work??
Did it work
perfect timing, just had a lite frontal impact from the van that pulled in front, we both couldn't stop in time due to the roads are very loose
I "T-Boned" a car and noticed the forks were slightly bent. Didn't notice any handing problems at normal speeds and since I had just paid $700 to have my stock "01 Triumph speed triple forks upgraded with Race Tech HD springs + Gold Valves (yea, my good luck, I know) I tried riding to see if my handling/ suspension had changed at high speeds Good News...it was still good!! Amazing. Ran her up to 140mph without any vibratoin/cornering or handling issues. Thank You Buda/God.
Awesome! 🤘
This one video fixed my 2 year old issue, even my dealership and service center said to replace whole front portion of my motorcycle after the minor accident 😳
took a spill recently and was worryed I'd actually twisted the fork, thanks for the tip!
Just fixed my CBR F3 thanks to you. Cheers m8!
Had a head on collision and the steering was off, seen this video and it fixed the problem
Thanks so much
Just a bit of info-
ALSO Loosen bottom fork pinch bolts and axle as well as bottom triple clamp on forks. Everything needs to be “loose” to realign not just the bottom triple clamp.
Just done this today on my yz250. It works! Thanks!
Do you not have to loosen the steering stem nut, mudguard, caliper and front axle?
Thank you soo much for your vedio ,I been suffering for how many years ,my hand to much pain because my steering wheel is not Align thanks for this man ,my problem is Answerd ,from Philippines ❤️
I noticed my tapered bars looked a little bent after dropping it on a rutted muddy road yesterday.
I haven’t had the chance to take a look at it yet but it’s probably just some fork twist in the clamp.
Tapered bars don’t bend so easily.
To make it complete, loosen the bolts that hold the wheel axle as well, to prevent the forks are gonna be tighened with tension. It can create a lot of friction.
Simple and straightforward. Thank you, needed this since my crash 2 days ago.
Same but today
@@christianhill5013 glad you okay buddy
Funny cause two day ago I crashed my bike.
@@TheA-iu9ip Giving thanks to life, bike can be fixed but life is none replaceable.
Ohio roads are not safe I hit plastic lane divider that didn’t have sticks on it so it looked like a regular lane. I was fr sick had to watch my video to even comprehend what happened wack!!!!!
Thanks! I low sided in the wet a few days ago, was wondering how to fix my alignment.
I've got the same problem , I repaired my bike after a low side accident . Just Noticed the handle bars are slightly to the right . I just that a go
+mark smith any luck?
Not really just the same I have anther go
Then it's take it somewhere to pay garage to do it
Check out the comment above by santasfake 21 - he has a few extra tips that might help!
Just laid my bike down this afternoon, some lady wasn't looking and pulled out in front of me. Squeezed and stomped my binders and a manhole cover toppled me to the right. Still rode home, but handlebars are out. I'm hoping this fixes it. No pain, no gain.
Worked on my '13 Super Tenere after a bad landing. Thanks pal
Happy to help!
@Jeramie Ogle i have 2018 ES model super tenere as will, drop it in my garage due to the kickstand not fully deployed and misaligned the bars what did you basically do to fix it what bolt did you loosened up? thanks for your response.
You're doing it wrong. You need to loosen the top yoke (triple tree for our USA friends) centre nut too. It's also recommended to loosen the axle pinch bolts too. All then needs torquing down to their correct settings - nothing too major, except the centre nut needs about 110lbs (80nm).
Wow that's all I can say, truly a lifesaver
I’ve been riding a 50cc Supermoto since a few weeks and today the road was really wet because It rained and when I wanted to stop I pressed the front brake even tho I should have pressed the rear brake and then I slipped out so after that I checked if everything was ok and then I realised my handlebar was not straight so I got really stressed but then I watched your video and fixed it in 10minutes
huh. this might be exactly what i need. have the same problem on my crossrunner and haven't figured out whats wrong. will give this a try on the weekend. thanks!
Ive got a crf250l 2015 and i crashed it yesterday, was shitting bricks until i found this. I'll need to get home and try it out first but thank you if it does!
did it work
Just done this on my R6 worked perfect thank you
Watched with interest, this and a few others regarding the same fix after dropping my SV650. Had high hopes but unfortunately my bar is actually bent at the contour on the right side...where it fell. Can actually see a changed / different angle in the bend compared to the left / clutch side. Guess it's new bars for me. Pisses me off...more than a little. Live and learn...won't happen again.
I had to change the bars on my ER6 when some scooter gang scoped it out to see if they could nick it, saw the big chain and just tipped it over out of spite. Super annoying! Not an inconsiderable job swapping the bars...
@@motobob I'm not looking forward to it. Also need the rear brake pedal...front brake lever and mirror. The right bar end. Got a sweet deal on the bike but the expense of this repair kinda cuts that in half.
Hey, video is great. I am wondering cuz I am new rider, can I fit all kind of levers (brake and clutch) to every bike and I really like yours there is adjustment to both. Can you tell me what they are. Are they oem from a different bike? Thanks in advance.
Thank you so much mate! I thought I made a costly mistake until I came across this video.
cool video. one bit of suggestion tho is to loosen the top nut 1.5 turns after loosening the fork brackets. it'll help :)
Worked great on my XR650L. Thanks a lot!
Bro, u saved my life, Thank you
What a fucking life saver. Came off mine in November. Bars were bent but after replacing them they're still not straight. Tried doing this not knowing you could loosen the bolts.
I have been shitting bricks for months since the bike was literally brand new when I did it. I'm doing this first thing tomorrow morning
for anyone reading this, when you look at your manual, the torque specs for these bolts specifically on those clamps is lower than you think, don't tighten them that much, my bike which is 400 pounds says to tighten the bolts to 17 ft/lbs. or 23nm, That's less than hand tightened for sure
Just letting you know your a hero 7 years after dropping this
Totally fixed my crooked bar!
I recently hit a young buck (deer) at about 55 mph on my CBR500R. Broke every single fairing and headlight in the front, both side fairings, and headlight and some other odds and ends things. Unfortunately I mistakenly did not have my M Class license at this time so I couldn’t make a insurance claim… So I’ve gotten all the OEM parts I need ordered. I noticed a nice dent in my tank and couldn’t figure out how it got there. Well this issue shown in this video was my exact problem I was stressed over. Last thing I want to do is buy a new set of forks for 1000$. When I turn my bars to the right they hit the tank before the bar stopper. Turn to the left and they hit the stopped and have a quite a way before hitting the tank. I’ve been more stressed over this issue than any of the other 20 broken parts I have. I hit the deer hard enough to kill it on impact. And my bike went down hard on the right side. I really hope this video will be all I need.
Really hoping this is my problem and my forks aren’t bent.
I was going around a roundabout today, and it was raining, front wheel slipped going around 20 mph, may have broken my knee, what size of Allen key is this?
Would this work if the bar is bent up slightly? I crashed to the left side when a car a car cut me off and the left side of the bar is ever so slightly lower than the right
Now its a real dragbar!
Whether it can be do on usd forks
5 years later and it has helped me, Singaporean.
I cant express how happy I am to find this video... I've got the same problem, and Ive got exactly the same bike er6n '08 :)
Ah that’s lucky then! Good luck with it - let me know how it goes
But I was just thinking, what if the handlebar itself s bent, and we are actually doing alignment according to its bent condition? I hope u understand :)
If your bars are bent then you should replace them first anyway!
I think thats the problem... I cant tell.. It looks same like on your video, but I would want to know how to check if they are ok or just bent...
Why not just try doing what I said in the video? It only takes 10 mins and it might work
exactly what i was looking for. hope this works. thanks!
I had some tosser on a building site severse into the front of my bike. It even squated the side stand and made it slack and lean more in the stand. I belive I've got distortion somewhere. Ether the fork/s or yokes. Finding it difficult to spot the issue with having limited equipment and no jigs to reference off of
I did have to replace the original bearing and fitted one of them nicer stronger taperd bearing sets. It fixed the knocking issue upon breaking and give a more fluid thst new rotation. But I still find my handle bars always keep over within a week of riding and have to keep resetting them true
Is this a permanent fix to crooked forks? Or do they tend to return to being misaligned after hitting enough bumps?
Should fix minor alignment issues permanently, but if your forks are truly bent from a bit impact then you might need some mechanical assistance. Worth trying this first tho
Do you need a special torque wrench or would allen keys work?
Allen keys work if you’re experienced and can do it by feel, but it’s always better to torque bolts when tightening them if you can get hold of a wrench.
I crashed into my buddy one of my forks was super bent I replaced it and my front tire still crooked do you think my other fork is bent and that's why it won't go straight
Thanks mate!....really works on my v strom 650!!...
Good news! 👍🙌
bought my bike yesterday and i fell this morning. see the bars are off so i asked my teacher; RUclips. thank u for this vid
I think this might help me, thank you for the video I was so stressed
ok.. so i crashed my bike and the wheel is a little off... will this work? or what else should i check?
my bars are a little bit more out than yours, but at least i've got only 2 bolts on the bottom yoke instead of 4.
Will this work on USD forks?? and any idea on the cost of WP Aer suspensions??
bro thank you so much ahah i didn't know it was that easy.
Had a tumble the other day (nothing major only 5-10mph) but it has had an off feeling to the handling riding away from the drop scene i thought it was just me imagining it but yesterday just went round the block and it , like i said feels off, usually u can let the bars gp and it will carry on straight but it was going to tyhe right i didnt know what it was but this seems most likely to be the problem the fork isnt bent from what i can tell, so my question beforw i do this is did you have any problems with fork seales leaking afterwords or was all fine and back to normal .
Shouldn’t have anything to do with the fork seals. You just loosen the lower yokes and give it a good shove up and down
@@motobob see this is how little knowledge i have of bikes ha ha i love them and i love riding them (and not just in summer) thank you tho
No prob!
Very useful video Bud.
wish i saw this video first. I loosened the top screws and it lowered my bike and now im looking for a way to fix that.
Hey thanks a lot, this fixed my machine right up!
Awesome - that’s great to hear! 👍👍👍
Okay, but after this, will the wheel be riding straight?
Both yokes should be loosened?left and right.
Very, very helpful. Thanks for the video. 👍
Thanks ,Easy as cake. Ridin a kawa 750 Vulcan. Later from Texas.usa.
Im gonna try this later, I think my recently acquired DR750 has this issue from a tumble in its 30y lifespan
do i need a paddock on a fairing bike? because mine fall at the parking lot yesterday and it has misaligned
You don't loose anything else, just those lower clamps? 🤔
OK so you don't mess with the bolt on the center like a bicycle?
Is there a way to measure by any kind of tools to be more accurate?
Wow thanks so much, I didn't know is that easy!!
I uhh, fell over. On a bridge today on my moped. Sm derbi. Uhh, and i have similar issue. I hope to god this helps. My handlebars are crooked af. Well. The entire front is crooked. The plastics and handlebars.
Bro pls help me in my new bike i met with accident as a result alloy and race kit, whole the fork stumbs, handlebar replaced. After that the handle feels like inclined to right also feeling pain on my hands. Again the handle bar replaced. Now there is a slite minor inclination on the handlebar position aslo after 70 kmph handle have a slite shaking also feels like loss of stability during corners. if we have a pillion handlebar retuns to the correct possition. Also there is some slite bouncing on the handlebar .